The present invention pertains to a rack designed to hold a bicycle on the roof of a car. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a bicycle rack which is adapted to be attached to a luggage carrier on the roof of a motor vehicle and which holds a bicycle in an upright position.
A bicycle rack of the present invention consists of a cradle which is used to lock the front wheel of the bicycle in position, and it also includes a bracket which clamps the pedal crank assembly. The bracket includes a hinged lever which may be locked in its closed position to help prevent the theft of the bicycle.
The safest and most convenient way to set a bicycle on the roof of a vehicle usually consists of a bicycle rack attached to the roof or trunk luggage carrier, depending on the type of vehicle considered.
Two categories of bicycle racks are presently used, namely those that hold the bicycle in an upside-down position and those allowing for an upright position of the bicycle.
When a bicycle is mounted in a rack in an upside down position, it is held by the handlebar and the saddle. However, in a rack of this type which is secure in that it does not permit the bicycle to break loose, damage to the bicycle may result, due to the stress applied thereto by the vehicle's vibrations, as well as the significant overhang with respect to the mounting points.
The upright bicycle racks do not have that disadvantage, since the bicycle is held by the saddle mounting tube, close to the saddle, and by the front wheel or the front fork. Prior art upright racks, however, required the use of a large jib for the fastening of the saddle tube, and, therefore, are cumbersome, unaesthetic and inconvenient to the user during bicycle fastening and unfastening operations.